I haven't asked, but I expect that OpenOffice and a web browser cover most of her requirements. I'll ask next time I see her on a google hangout.
-- rec -- On Tue, Oct 28, 2014 at 7:32 PM, Tom Johnson <[email protected]> wrote: > Roger: > Yeah, but what software is she/can she run? > > -tom > > > ============================================ > Tom Johnson > Institute for Analytic Journalism -- Santa Fe, NM USA > 505.577.6482(c) 505.473.9646(h) > Society of Professional Journalists <http://www.spj.org> - Region 9 > <http://www.spj.org/region9.asp> Director > Twitter: jtjohnson > slideshare.net/jtjohnson/presentations > http://www.jtjohnson.com [email protected] > ============================================ > > On Tue, Oct 28, 2014 at 6:17 PM, Roger Critchlow <[email protected]> wrote: > >> The best advice I ever gave about Linux was to my sister in law this >> spring. I said: ¨Just buy another disk for the laptop, keep the windows >> disk as a backup in case you want to go back.¨ Truth is, it takes less >> time to buy a new laptop drive and swap it in than it does to explain how >> to set up a dual boot system. Especially when it turns out that the >> windows install is somehow mystically wired to the original disk >> partitioning, as it appears to be these days. It hardly takes any longer >> to buy a box that lets you mount the spare disk over a USB port, too. >> >> She has been a Windows user forever, happy as a clam running Linux now, >> especially since it extends the useful life of the hardware by being less >> of a bloated mess. >> >> -- rec -- >> >> On Tue, Oct 28, 2014 at 4:01 PM, Russell Standish <[email protected]> >> wrote: >> >>> On Tue, Oct 28, 2014 at 11:24:36AM -0600, Gillian Densmore wrote: >>> > Second Question: >>> > Feeling as if I've had about enough of windows, I want to consider >>> > linux as a option. What's been peoples experience with it these days? >>> > >>> >>> It keeps getting better and better. I remember the days when it was a >>> right royal PITA to set up X-windows, but that was like 20 years ago. Now >>> there are versions you can download onto a DVD or USB stick and run >>> without installing anything. Great for try-before-you-buy. >>> >>> Nowadays, a linux distro will just install and work, and support the >>> latest USB devices (except Apple iOS devices, *cough*). I happen to use >>> OpenSUSE, but other distros I've used have worked well too. >>> >>> The only gotchas? If you want to preserve your windows, you can bet >>> into trouble. Last time I bought a laptop and installed the latest >>> OpenSUSE, it trashed the Windows 8 partition (which I hadn't even booted >>> at that stage). I had to badger HP into sending me the OEM disks to >>> reinstall the system (which I insisted should have been part of the >>> sale in the first place). >>> >>> Now, of course, OpenSUSE's version has bumped, and it will happily >>> install alongside Windows 8. It just needed to catch up with the >>> latest UEFI shenannigans. >>> >>> The second gotcha is systemd. You can read a ton of vitriol about it >>> on the web. Personally, systemd is not so bad, but just very badly >>> documented when first released, so it did cause a lot of pain a couple >>> of years ago. Now its easier to figure out how to use it. >>> >>> That's it. Just check whether you have any applications that are >>> Windows only - if you do, you can have a dual boot setup, or use a >>> virtual machine - or you can also try wine, which will run a lot of >>> Windows software natively on Linux. For example, I ran Microsoft Word >>> for years on Wine (MSWord happened to be a requirement for one of my >>> clients as personally, I'd use LibreOffice by preference). >>> >>> Cheers >>> >>> -- >>> >>> >>> ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- >>> Prof Russell Standish Phone 0425 253119 (mobile) >>> Principal, High Performance Coders >>> Visiting Professor of Mathematics [email protected] >>> University of New South Wales http://www.hpcoders.com.au >>> >>> Latest project: The Amoeba's Secret >>> (http://www.hpcoders.com.au/AmoebasSecret.html) >>> >>> ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- >>> >>> ============================================================ >>> FRIAM Applied Complexity Group listserv >>> Meets Fridays 9a-11:30 at cafe at St. John's College >>> to unsubscribe http://redfish.com/mailman/listinfo/friam_redfish.com >>> >> >> >> ============================================================ >> FRIAM Applied Complexity Group listserv >> Meets Fridays 9a-11:30 at cafe at St. John's College >> to unsubscribe http://redfish.com/mailman/listinfo/friam_redfish.com >> > > > ============================================================ > FRIAM Applied Complexity Group listserv > Meets Fridays 9a-11:30 at cafe at St. John's College > to unsubscribe http://redfish.com/mailman/listinfo/friam_redfish.com >
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